text:
Louisiana Ranks as Second Least Stressed State in National Study
It turns out the Sportsman's Paradise is a paradise in general. According to a Gallup study of 350,000 people across the US, Louisiana is the second least stressed state in the country.
The study found that 37.6 percent of Louisianians asked said that they felt stress the previous day. Hawaii grabbed the number one spot, with just 32.1 percent admitting stress the day before.
The pollsters did not point out any reasons for Louisiana's relatively stress-free results, such as our great hunting, delicious food or laid-back attitude.
Five least stressed states
1. Hawaii
2. Louisiana
3. Mississippi
4. Iowa
5. Wyoming
Five most stressed states
1. West Virginia
2. Rhode Island
3. Kentucky
4. Utah
5. Massachusetts
[via Gallup]


text:
LOS ANGELES – Southern California starting center Dewayne Dedmon and backup big man James Blasczyk have been suspended indefinitely following allegations the pair was involved in a melee in Spokane, Wash., over the weekend.
Interim coach Bob Cantu said Monday the suspensions were the result of violating an unspecified team rule. It wasn't immediately clear whether the 7-footers would be allowed to play in the Trojans' opening game against Utah in the Pac-12 Conference tournament on Wednesday night in Las Vegas.
Spokane police are investigating a series of fights in the downtown area early Sunday morning. The Trojans were staying there after losing 76-51 to Washington State on Saturday in Pullman.
"Separately, we are aware of the Spokane investigation into an alleged incident involving those players and we are cooperating with the authorities to determine the facts," Cantu said in a statement. "Until we learn all the facts, it would be inappropriate to comment further."
The Trojans opened their road trip with a 65-57 loss to Washington last Thursday. They tied for sixth in the conference and earned the seventh seed for the tournament.
Dedmon, a 23-year-old redshirt junior from Lancaster, Calif., has started 29 of 31 games this season and averages 6.7 points and a team-leading 7.0 rebounds.
Blasczyk, a 22-year-old senior from Friendswood, Texas, has played in 21 games, averaging 1.5 points and 1.2 rebounds.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The Shibboleth of Fëanor
This article or section needs expansion and/or modification. Please help the wiki by expanding it. |
The Shibboleth of Fëanor is the eleventh chapter of The Peoples of Middle-earth. It primarily concerns the titular essay by J.R.R. Tolkien, which discusses the shift from þ (as in English 'thing') to s in the spoken 'Exilic' dialect of Quenya, and how this phonological change was intimately connected to historical and political circumstances. Also included however are lengthy 'excursuses' from this essay regarding Elven 'mother-names', the parentage of Gil-galad, the westward migration of the Edain, and the names of various prominent Noldor. Additionally the main body of the essay also contains an interesting tangent on Galadriel.
The case of the Quenya change of þ > s[edit | edit source]
The basis of the essay is the 'anomalous' use of s: Tolkien reasons that since in Sindarin—the vernacular tongue of the Noldor after their exile—þ was common, the change þ > s must have become widespread before the Noldor left Valinor. And on the basis of the presence of þ in Vanyarin and Telerin, and its retention in written Exilic Quenya the Noldor must have been aware and capable of producing the sound. He therefore concludes that the þ > s shift was "conscious and deliberate" and after the birth of Míriel but before the birth of Fëanor.
Having pinpointed the origin of the change Tolkien goes on to discuss its adoption by the majority of Noldor and the historical context in which this occurred. Originally, he explains, the change was criticised by loremasters "who pointed out that the damage this merging would do in confusing stems and their derivatives that had been distinct in sound and sense had not yet been sufficiently considered". Chief among these 'reactionaries' was Fëanor who, in addition to scholarly reasons, opposed þ > s because he had become attached to the þ sound due to its presence in the mother-name of his mother Míriel, Þerindë ('Needlewoman'). Following the voluntary death of Míriel, and the animosity this produced between Fëanor and Finwë's children by Indis, this formerly scholarly debate became politicised. The use of þ by Fëanor and his followers became entrenched, and he saw the growing adoption of s by the Noldor, and especially now by Finwë and Indis themselves, as a deliberate insult to his mother and a plot by the Valar to weaken his influence amongst the Noldor. In this way Fëanor made þ > s a political shibboleth; he styled himself the 'Son of the Þerindë' and would say to his children:
We speak as is right, and as King Finwë himself did before he was led astray. We are his heirs by right and the elder house. Let them sá-sí, if they can speak no better.
Finally, Finarfin and his house are discussed as exceptions to this division. They used Þ, not because of Fëanor's arguments, but because of their fondness for and kinship with the Vanyar and Teleri, whose dialects retained it. Eventually however Finarfin's daughter Galadriel, out of her intense dislike of Fëanor and its near-universal use amongst the Noldor of Beleriand, came to favour s (e.g. in her lament).
About the text[edit | edit source]
The Shibboleth of Fëanor was drawn from a single unfinished typescript, with handwritten notes interspersed, composed sometime after 1968. According to Christopher Tolkien it is typical of his father's latest work on the legendarium in that the production of new material resulted largely from discursive attempts to explain anomalies and unanswered questions in his earlier work, usually philological in nature, which often led to treatments of widely varying subjects.[2]
Some notes (with advanced linguistic content) from the manuscript papers were excluded from the version presented in The Peoples of Middle-earth. These were later published as "From The Shibboleth of Fëanor" in Vinyar Tengwar, Number 41, edited and commented by Carl F. Hostetter.[3]
See also[edit | edit source]
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Peoples of Middle-earth, "The Shibboleth of Fëanor", p. 336.
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Peoples of Middle-earth, Introduction to "Part Two: Late Writings".
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, "From The Shibboleth of Fëanor" (edited by Carl F. Hostetter), in Vinyar Tengwar, Number 41, July 2000, p. 7.


text: A meaningful dialogue with the community is critical to the success of this study. Please fill out the form below with any questions or comments about this study. For more information on Staten Island's West Brighton Brownfield Opportunity Area, contact the Staten Island Office of the Department of City Planning at (718) 556-7240.


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Popular SciencePopular Science gives our readers the information and tools to improve
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cytotoxic T cell
(SY-toh-TOK-sik ... sel)
A type of immune cell that can kill certain cells, including foreign cells, cancer cells, and cells infected with a virus. Cytotoxic T cells can be separated from other blood cells, grown in the laboratory, and then given to a patient to kill cancer cells. A cytotoxic T cell is a type of white blood cell and a type of lymphocyte. Also called cytotoxic T lymphocyte and killer T cell.


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Destry Allyn Spielberg
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text:
Has the Grinch moved to Washington?
Retailers will find out this weekend if concerns over the so-called fiscal cliff and possible tax increases subdues shoppers as they flood malls across the U.S. on Black Friday, the unofficial start to the holiday shopping season.
The National Retail Federation says holiday sales will rise 4.1 percent to an estimated $586.1 billion this year, compared with a 5.6 percent gain in 2011. Even though thousands of stores are opening earlier, 147 million consumers, or 5 million fewer than last year, plan to hit the malls this weekend, according to an NRF survey conducted by BIGresearch.
"We hear these guys on cable television with eerie music, talking about doom and gloom," Mortimer Singer, chief executive officer of New York consulting firm Marvin Traub Associates, said in a telephone interview. "Consumers get nervous when this kind of stuff happens."
To put them in a spending mood, retailers are opening earlier than ever and dangling discounts such as $7 board games at Target Corp. and $19 sweaters at Gap Inc. Mindful that many shoppers plan to buy gifts online, Target and Best Buy Co. are matching prices offered by online competitors such as Amazon.com Inc., while some merchants are adding kiosks and mobile checkouts to integrate online and in-store shopping. Others have giveaways such as free family portraits in November at J.C. Penney Co. stores.
Child-care service
In an effort to lure shoppers into stores, malls have added such features as lounges, gift-wrapping services, even child- care, Joel Bines, a Dallas-based managing director in the retail practice at AlixPartners, said in a telephone interview.
The moves are "almost entirely related to the amount of business that has moved to the Web," he said.
U.S. consumers, whose spending makes up about 70 percent of the U.S. economy, have coped this year with political uncertainty, higher fuel prices and, in the Northeast, the fallout from Hurricane Sandy.
There are signs of improvement, including rising home prices and a jobless rate that's ducked under 8 percent in the past two months, the lowest since January 2009. Household confidence in the week ended Nov. 11 climbed to -33.1, the highest level in seven months, according to the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index, and has increased in 10 of the past 12 weeks. Still, that figure indicates that one-third of those surveyed hold a negative view of the economy.
Marketing tool
Black Friday got its name because retailers traditionally turned profitable on the day following Thanksgiving. While that is no longer true across the board, Black Friday has become a powerful marketing tool and one of the busiest days on the U.S. shopping calendar. More than half of American consumers plan to shop during the holiday weekend, with about one-third hitting the stores on Black Friday alone, according to a survey conducted by the International Council of Shopping Centers, an industry group based in New York.
Thousands more stores are opening early this year, after a few chains tested the water last year.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, started its in-store specials at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving, two hours earlier than last year. Gap, the biggest U.S. specialty-apparel retailer, opened more stores, about a third of its total, mostly at 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving this year. Macy's opened stores at midnight after Thanksgiving having done so for the first time last year. Kohl's Corp., Staples Inc. and The Disney Store Ltd. are among those offering "pre-Black Friday" specials.
Teen party
Merchants that sell to teens can particularly benefit from earlier hours, according to John D. Morris, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets in New York. Most American Eagle Outfitters Inc. and Abercrombie & Fitch Co. stores will open at midnight.
"It is literally a party, it is a teen party mob scene," Morris said. "These teens are going nuts over this stuff."
More than 180 of Mall of America's 520 stores opened at midnight on Thanksgiving, an increase from 65 a year ago.
Stores that didn't open early in 2011 "were bummed," Julie Hansen, a spokesman for the Bloomington, Minn., mall, said in a telephone interview. Several stores that opened at midnight last year had surpassed their sales figures from the previous Black Friday by 4 a.m., she said.
Customers have long complained about seeing Christmas decor in stores before kids had even finished devouring their Halloween candy, and retailers had traditionally saved their best come-hither deals for after Thanksgiving. More recently, though, some retailers began offering Black Friday deals online beginning on Thanksgiving and then opening stores on the holiday, and consumers followed.
No Thanksgiving
"It's unfortunate, but it's just that constant creep forward -- soon, there will be no Thanksgiving holiday," Bines said. "The holdouts this year are next year's participants. It's just a question of who wants to push the envelope."
Not everyone is a fan of the extended hours. While the holiday openings, with their doorbusters and giveaways, create buzz, the downside is that adding hours on Thanksgiving can damage employee morale and performance in the long run, said Paul Swinand, a retail analyst at Morningstar Inc. in Chicago.
More than 130 petitions asking large retailers to forgo holiday hours have been introduced this year, according to Change.org, a website that allows activists to post petitions. That includes one from a Target worker calling for the Minneapolis-based discounter to revert to a 5 a.m. Black Friday opening that has garnered more than 350,000 signatures this year, according to the organization.
Wal-Mart protests
Wal-Mart workers demanding better pay and benefits have vowed to stage more than 1,000 protests online and outside U.S. stores this week. To gain leverage, protest leaders will have to turn out significant numbers of strikers and persuade bargain- hunters to go elsewhere. Similar protests in recent weeks have had little perceptible impact.
Some merchants, including J.C. Penney and Staples, said they would remain closed on Thanksgiving because they don't want to infringe on their workers' time with family.
Even without opening early, retailers will benefit from the maximum number of days possible -- 32 -- between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year, said Roseanne McCauley, vice president of the Americas for Experian FootFall, which tracks traffic and other data for retailers.
"People have two more paychecks coming in before the end of the month," she said in a Nov. 16 telephone interview.
Adding a sales day from Thanksgiving "is going to absolutely increase volume" for retailers, enabling them to stick to their planned schedule of markdowns, McCauley said. "At the end of the day, the hours are driven by the consumers."


text:
The following is an account by Peter D'Angelo, one of the passengers on the MS Explorer ship that recently sank in the Antarctic. Following the account are a large number of questions that I asked my friend Pete in order to find out more about what happened. His responses to these questions are in bold type.
----- Original Message -----
From: Peter D'Angelo
Sent: Wednesday, November 28, 2007 3:47 PM
Subject: We're Home
"Dear Family and Friends,
Yesterday (Tuesday) when we went through immigration in San Francisco, the immigration agent asked us the usual question: occupation, what did you like best/least about your trip? To the former we replied retired/dietitian. To the latter we replied: the ship sank/we're alive. Suddenly this lethargic civil servant woke up. He wanted to hear all about what happened.
Before I go on, you must understand one thing. While we went through the same experience, shoulder to shoulder and often hand in hand, we have different feelings about it. Indeed, everyone who went through it with us has their own unique and personal feelings. While I was cold, wet, shivering, and throwing up, it never occurred to me that I could die. Lynne however was thinking about: what if the weather suddenly changed, if we hit ice or took a big wave and were swamped, if we would capsize. Therefore, in writing this I can only write for myself. Whatever I write is filtered through my perceptions which could be quite different for Lynne.
Thursday night we were tired. Instead of watching the 9:15 movie we showered and were in bed by 10:00. I fitfully tried to go to sleep. We were going through brash ice – little pieces of ice. Since we were on the third deck, as low as you could go, half our cabin was below the waterline. I could hear the pieces of brash ice scraping against the hull, which was only a single hull. Once and a while a more sold piece would strike. I finally fell asleep.
About 12:30 I was roused by what sounded like the gang plank slapping against the hull. Then I heard what sounded like water pouring down a drain. In my sleep I was thinking to wake Lynne and ask her about the sound. I didn't remember hearing it before. I touched the bulkhead. It was dry. I put my hand on the floor.
From half asleep I went to full awake. I bolted up and pushed the emergency button and woke Lynne. I threw on some clothes. We pulled the suitcases out from under the bed; I took my laptop out from the low drawer it was in. The water continued coming in. I decided I should move things up to the second deck. I started with my laptop.
The people in the next cabin had also notified the ship. By the time I stuck my head out of the cabin a crew man was coming down. A few minutes later he was followed by the captain. The captain was a solidly built, forty-ish Swede. When he came down the stairs his comment (in English) was: "My god; We're sinking." The alarm sounded.
When I returned to the cabin I quickly opened up the drawers of the nightstand between our two beds. I scooped out my wallet, the recently filled 2 gigabyte memory from my camera, the backup flash drive with my journal on it and Lynne's hand cream. I tossed clothes and camera into the suitcase and took them up to the second deck.
By the time I returned to the cabin, the boat was listing and the water was ankle deep in one end of the cabin. I picked up one of my tennis shoes and put it on a stool. I watched the other float under the bed. It floated back out and I grabbed it. The word came down: "get warm clothes." I grabbed some of our clothes that were on the bed. Lynne had gone up to our muster station in her night gown carrying our Wellington's (high rubber boots) and some clothes. I also grabbed our Gore-Tex jackets and fleece liners and made my way to our muster station in the lecture hall.
When everyone was assembled in the lecture hall they took roll. Periodically the captain would come on the intercom and tell us what was happening. We knew that a mayday had been sent, and that there were two ship coming but they were 10 and 6 hours away. At first there was hope the leak could be fixed. Then the mood in the lecture hall became somber and quiet. At the end of hour one the captain lowered the lifeboats into position. At the end of hour two the captain said that we were coming into ice. The lifeboats could not be lowered in the ice. Therefore, he decided to abandon ship. Then we heard those words that no one on a ship ever wants to hear the captain utter: "abandon ship; abandon ship; abandon ship."
At 2:30 in the morning we quietly filed out of the lecture hall. There was no crying; there was no pushing; there was no panic. One of the staff members directed us to the port (left) or starboard (right) side to go the life boats. Initially we went to the port side. When the word went out that they needed 8 people on the starboard side we went there. I didn't appreciate how much the ship was listing, perhaps 30 degrees, until I had to walk down across the fantail.
I was the last one into number one life boat. It was at this point that I was most anxious. I felt that once I was in the lifeboat I would be safe. However, there was only enough room for my feet! I stepped in, sat on the gunwale for a moment, and then wiggled my bottom onto the seat, my back against the hull. There was a problem with the engine, but it got started.
They lowered us away. Once in the water we pushed away from the ship. Our boat was overloaded! Fortunately the seas were relatively calm and there was no wind. We were very far south where it gets dark very late and light very early. It was not dark out, but twilight. Fortunately we had zodiacs – rubber boats with outboard motors. While the electric generators had stopped working we had emergency power so they were able to use it to run the winches to lower the zodiacs. After a while they off loaded people from our lifeboat to a zodiac
Once in the lifeboat Lynne and I sat huddled together. While the Gore-Tex jackets kept our topsides dry, our bottoms were wet and there was water in our Wellingtons. There was little talking in the boat. People were somber and cold. The only sound was from the two cylinder engine and an occasional order from the first mate, who was in charge of our boat.
At 3:41 I watched the sun rise. It was a small, round, golden orb that came out of a gray sea and disappeared into a gray sky.
Several times I threw up as the result of the fumes from the engine that I was sitting next to and the motion of the lifeboat. At times I started to shiver, sometimes violently. The though of hyperthermia crossed my mind, but I knew from my Boy Scout training that as long as my upper body was dry and warm I was okay. Through out this my mind was a blank, thinking on the cold, listening to the engine, always concerned that it would stall.
After about two hours in the boat the first mate told us that the rescue ship was about 2 hours away. (The first mate had a radio.) About an hour after that a helicopter flew over head and circled us. Even thought we knew that people around the world knew exactly where we were, our spirits were greatly lifted. Somewhere between hour four and five someone spotted a glint of light in the distance. Soon after that we could see it was a ship bearing down on us.
We got not one, but two rescue ships: the National Geographic's Endeavor, and the Nordnorge. The former ship was small, the size of the Explorer; the latter ship could hold 600 passengers though there were only 229 on board.
What a wonderful sight it was when the Nordnorge removed the covers from its gigantic lifeboat and lowered their lifeboat down to us. After four or five hours we were stiff. Hands reached out to us and help us into Nordnorge lifeboat. When everyone was transferred we were raised up to the forth deck. When we went into the ship we were greeted by a crew member giving each of us a blanket. We were sent up to the seventh deck were we were given a hot drink and then pointed in the direction of the lounges. The call went out over the ship's intercom for clothes. Soon the couches and chairs in the lounge were covered with wet clothes that we exchanged for dry ones donated to us. Both the ship and the passengers of the Nordnorge were unbelievably generous. From large deck to ceiling windows of the seventh deck lounge we could watch our ship as it listed. (Unlike the pictures you have probably seen, there was no ice surrounding the ship – that happened later.)
We were served breakfast and lunch on the Nordnorge. The Nordnorge tried to offload us at the Chilean Frei Base. Due to the weather, blowing snow and high seas, it couldn't. We had to wait offshore several hours before we could finally be landed.
Why did the boat sink? While it is true that there was a hole in the hull, the water tight doors were shut. The compartment where our cabin was should have filled up with water, but the boat should have continued to float. My understanding was that the problem was with the toilets. The water went into the toilets and then into the holding tank. When the holding tank filled up the water backed up into the other cabins thus bypassing the watertight doors.
Why was this not another Titanic? Relatively speaking we had good weather and a calm sea. The captain launched the lifeboats at the right time. We had the zodiacs. We were all fit people: there were no children or infirmed. We were used to being out on the sea in the cold. We had good leadership. We were dressed for the cold. And, above all, we were lucky.
This had been a truly amazing week. I could go on and on. How wonderful the Chilean government was. What it was like flying in a C130 (a military cargo plane) where our knees were intertwined with the knees of the person opposite us. How helpful Debbie, the US Consul from Santiago was. How well we were treated by GAP, the company that ran the tour. What it was like to give interviews to the world press. How basically everything we brought with us is now 1500 meters under the sea. Above all we are thankful to have the most important thing of all, our lives. We appreciate all the e-mails you have sent as they have brought us comfort and support.
Your friend
PS. If you have any newspapers or magazine articles about this incident, we would appreciate if you could save them for us."
Dear Pete,
Here is another news video link that I think is better than most:
And A KGO TV Channel 7 interview of Pete & Lynne (includes a startup commercial):
Date: Thu, 29 Nov 2007 09:51:11 -0800
What was the size of your cabin (LxWxH) and bathroom if it was a separate room?
The room was approximate 6 feet wide 12 feet long and 7 feet tall. The bathroom was a separate room that occupied one corner of the bedroom. It was 4 feet long 3 feet wide.
You said that half of your cabin was below the waterline and that your deck was the lowest YOU could go. Does this mean that the engine room was on the same deck, or was it further below?
When we toured the engine room we had to enter from a door on the second deck. Then we walked down stairs. The engines either were at our level or just slightly below. I believe that the Explorer was a shallow draft boat so that it could work in rivers and shallow bays.
How far below the water level was the hull puncture?
I believe that three feet of my cabin was out of the water which means about four feet was below the water line. I heard water gurgling in above my head. My head was one foot off the deck. So the puncture was somewhere between zero and two feet below the water line.
How far back from the bow of the ship was the hull puncture?
We were about in the middle.
Was any part of the hole in your cabin?
I can't say for sure. There was a wall between me and the hull. However since I heard water gurgling I can only assume that it was coming in behind me. (Of course it could have traveled over from the other cabin.)
How long after you heard the crash until you felt water on the floor?
Just a minute or two.
Could you visually tell where the water on your floor was coming from, i.e. from a part of a hole in your cabin, or up through the floor, or through the wall from the next cabin forward?
All I knew was that the floor was wet, like someone had dumped a pail of water on it and saturated it.
How did you find out about the size of the hole? Did you see it?
The captain said it was fist size. I couldn't see it because of the wall between me and the hull. However a fist size hole could have been handled by pumps.
You've mentioned that the ship was single hulled and yet I've heard (or read) that it was double hulled and somewhat hardened for running through ice. What is the truth about this?
My understanding was that the bottom was double hulled and the ship was ice hardened. If it had a double hull on the side the captain would not have announce that they couldn't determine the size of the leak until they strip away the wall.
Was the Captain on the bridge when it happened?
Don't know. The captain's room is behind the bridge. He was down within five minutes of the alarm being sounded.
You mentioned pushing an emergency button. Did all cabins have such an alarm button? And what instructions were you given about when to use it?
I believe that each cabin had an emergency button. We were told not to push it (except in emergency) because it was wired to the bridge and someone would come down to investigate.
I have the impression that the hull was punctured in the next cabin forward of yours. What did the people in that cabin have to say about what happened?
It was the cabin aft of us. I never really discussed it with them.
My sister said that on TV was a film by one of the passengers about the whole thing. If you find out how to get a copy I would be interested in seeing it. Did you see any of the passengers or crew take pictures of either the damage or the evacuation?
Yes I saw someone taking pictures with their camera. I doubt that you can get a copy.
[ subsequent info: See link to a Today Show interview with another passenger that took video during the sinking (includes a startup commercial): http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22006422/ ]
Was the ship brought to an immediate halt by the impact?
The ship was still running. In fact it was running when it was abandoned. However it was running in reverse. We had two motors (both I think constant speed) connected through a transmission to one propeller. The speed and direction of the boat were determined by adjusting the propeller's pitch, just like in an airplane. The pitch was adjusted by compressed air. Eventually when we lost the compressor the ship's propeller ended up being in reverse.
How soon was the ship propulsion stopped after the impact?
see above
Did you or anyone else ever see the object that was hit?
I didn't. Most people were in bed.
From your description it sounds like it was only about 10 minutes before you noticed that the ship was starting to list. Is that a fair estimate?
Its a fair guess. But when you're in a situation like that you loose track of time.
How soon after impact did the ship loose main electricity?
An hour to an hour and a half.
What damage repair (hole plugging or patching) or damage control (pumping) did you see or were told about being attempted?
The captain told us that they were pumping water. I was also told that they tried to stuff pillows into the hole.
How long after the crash until you began to think that everyone would have to abandon ship? And what caused you to think this?
We were primed for it an hour after the crash when the captain lowered the lifeboats into position. It didn't occurred to me that we would actually have to abandon the ship until the captain told us.
And how long after the crash did you realize that all of your belongings would be going down with the ship?
The next day when we were told that the ship had sunk. Up to that point we had hoped that the ship could be salvaged.
When were you issued life vests, assuming you were?
In the top shelf of our closet were two life jackets. During our lifeboat drill we tried them on. However when I finally dashed up stairs with the coats, fleece liners, some clothes and my tennis shoes in my hands I think I left mine behind. At least I couldn't find it. Fortunately there are extra life preservers (not as nice) in boxes on the deck. Actually a life preserver wouldn't have saved you. The water temperature was -2 deg C (or about -28 deg F) If you fell in you're dead.
Was your lifeboat the only one that was overloaded?
I don't know. However we had four lifeboats for 154 people. I can only assume that they were.
Would your lifeboat have remained afloat even if swamped, i.e. did it and the others have sealed floatation bladders?
There were a number of compartments for food (7 day supply), water, survival suits, medicine, etc, I believe that the boat would have floated if it were filled with water. However, we'd be in -2 deg of water and would quickly die of hyperthermia.
Photos seem to indicate that there may have been only one covered lifeboat, is that true?
All the life boats were open as were the zodiacs. However we did have canisters that would pop open and deploy a life raft. I don't believe that any of these were deployed, but they would have had a cover.
What were the total number of lifeboats launched?
There were four life boats and all were launched. There were at least four possibly more zodiacs launched.
What do you think would have happened if any of the lifeboat engines had failed?
Two perhaps three of the lifeboat engines failed. Without an engine the lifeboats could not have been steered into the waves and therefore could have capsized.
Did any of the other passengers (or crew) have full survival suits? And if so, were they supplied during the incident or personally acquired ahead of time?
There were survival suits in one compartment of the lifeboat. They were big space blanket like mummy bags. They were passed out half way through.
You told me that the ship had all of the passports. Were they subsequently distributed to you or did they go down with the ship?
They were given back to us when we were about to leave the Chilean base.
If you knew beforehand more of what you know now, what would you have done different before, at the time of the crash, and during the evacuation?
I would have grabbed my money belt (with $500 in it), my camera, our rain pants, my sweater, Lynne's cloth bag with her hat in it.
Will you be reimbursed for any or all of your losses? And if so, by who?
GAP, the tour operator, gave us each $100. (some people had no money.)
We were sent on a shopping spree with a $200 limit each. We bought a day pack, Lynne bought some shoes (she only had her Wellingtons while I had a donated pair of shoes), I bought a couple of shirts (I didn't know what else to buy) and we spent about $200 on a Canon camera and a 2 gigabyte memory card.
We had evacuation insurance that will pay $500 (less $50 deductible) each for lost luggage.
My credit card will pay for my "damaged" laptop. Unfortunately the coverage was for 90 days and I lost it at 92 days. I will file a claim but am not hopeful.
Since we did not buy travel insurance, it would have cost somewhere around $800 we can use what we didn't spend to offset our loss.
The $500 in my money belt was to tip the crew. I would have given it away anyway.
Do you plan to transcribe to print the tape I made of your KGO interview?
I don't plan on transcribing it. I have a very detailed write up in my journal.
Do you care if I distribute to others what you sent me, and may send me, about this i.e., should I treat your writing as formally copyrighted?
Please distributed it. The sincerest form of flattery is to send it to someone else.
Have you considered putting your account of this out on the WEB?
I hadn't. I don't know how to do it. However, it has been so widely distributed I won't be surprised if it makes it.
Date: Sat, 1 Dec 2007 07:06:29 -0800
From the pictures of the ship listing I assume that your cabin was on the starboard side, true?
Our cabin was on the starboard side.
What was the diameter of the toilet drains (3" or 4")?
I can't say. I couldn't see the pipe.
Did they have the capability to seal the fuel tank(s) before abandoning ship and did they do so?
I don't know if they could seal the fuel tanks. However, at 1500 meters I would imagine that the fuel tanks would be crushed by the water pressure.
It was mentioned numerous times by you and the news that the Captain decided to put everyone into lifeboats because the ship was drifting into ice. However, pictures indicate to me that the ice was not nearby until much later. Do you think that probably the real reason for proceeding when they did was that 1) he know that the ship would have to be abandoned sooner or later anyway, 2) if the ship had listed any further it would have seriously interfered with lowering the boats and/or 3) the engines were going to flood out and therefore prevent the use of the lowering hoists (or were they ALL on separate emergency power)?
I think one and two are correct. By the time we abandon ship we had lost the main ship electrical power and were running on an emergency generator.
Why did you believe that the ship was only a single hull vessel?
The captain said that were going to have to tear away the bulkhead to get to the hull to patch the leak. If we had been doubled hulled this would not have been possible.
My understanding is that the bottom is double hulled while the sides were single hulled with extra reinforcement.
I would expect that there will be some sort of inquiry into this happening. Therefore the authorities (if they do a thorough job) should include interviews or testimony from passengers. And therefore your accurate and timely writing down of your observations about what happened (especially with having had engineering training) may be very important.
It will be very interesting to see who does the inquiry. At the time we were in international waters. The ship was of Liberian registry, owned by a Canadian Company, Crewed by a Swedish Company.
From: Dennis Barkley Sent: Monday, December 03, 2007 11:47 AM
Your reports had left me uncomfortable about what had really happened -- especially since by your comments it appeared that the hull breach had occurred amidships instead of in the front. So I decided to look further on the internet and found the following interesting article:
From: Peter D'Angelo
Wednesday, December 05, 2007 1:57 PM
I think that you will find this interesting. Eli was in the cabin next to ours.
> >--------------------
> > An icy lesson in being grateful
> > --------------------
> >> > Traveler who survived sinking of Antarctic cruise ship says the chilling ordeal taught him what's important in life.
> >> > By David Haldane
> > Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
> >> > December 5 2007
> >> > It was just after midnight on the 12th day of a cruise to Antarctica when Eli Charne felt a giant lurch followed by a bang and the sound of gurgling.
> >> > The complete article can be viewed at:
Thursday, December 06, 2007 3:52 PM
Do you know the names of the other two people that were in the cabin next to you? And do you have any of their email addresses?
Did you ever receive a list of all of the passengers names and email addresses?
You mentioned being interviewed afterwards by various news people but were you, or any others, ever interviewed about what happened either by insurance and/or maritime investigators? And if so, when, where and by whom?
We were individually debriefed by a GAP employee (or at least a person employed by GAP) in Punta Arenas
What were the walls of your cabin (especially the wall towards the hull) made of? Sheetrock over wood or metal studding, or steel plate? And if steel, were the pieces spot or continuous welded, or bolted, to supporting and/or adjacent material?
The walls were covered with wallpaper so I have no idea of what they were made of.
What was your cabin door made of, and did it swing outward or inward from inside your cabin? And was this door watertight and have a sealing lip at the bottom?
The cabin door swung inward. This was not a water tight door; there was no lip at the bottom.
Were there any drains in your cabin floor or drains or open gratings in the hallway floor?
Other than in the bathroom there were no drains in the floors or hallways.
Was the cabin next to you and aft the same size as yours and made of the same material and in the same way (including the door)?
As far as I know yes.
How soon after the crash did you become aware that the people in the cabin next to you were awake and responding to the problem?
When I started to move things upstairs. A few minutes after the crash.
How soon after the crash that you first entered or looked into the hallway, and was it dark like it was reported by your neighbor?
Probably three to five minutes; the light was always on in the hall.
Did you see water rushing out of their cabin door at any time?
No, nor do I remember water being in the hall.
After reaching the muster station could you (If you had wanted to) have gone back down again to your cabin?
During the whole time of the incident how would you characterize the way the Captain, and each crew member, treated you with respect to you (or anyone else) trying to find out what happened and what they were doing to try and fix it?
The captain kept us updated on a fairly regular basis through the intercom while we were in the Lecture Hall.
While in your cabin could you tell when the ship was doing a hard turn (by feeling it and/or by different sounds)? If so, did you have any sense that the ship was in a hard turn when (or just after) the crash happened?
You couldn't feel the ship turning.
Do you have any sense of how big (LxWxH) the watertight compartment was that included you and your neighbor's cabins?
The water tight compartment ran the width of the ship, was about 20 feet long and reached up to the second deck about 10 to 12 feet above the third deck.
What could the crew and/or ship owners have done different, or more, either ahead of time, or during the incident, to have made things better?
1. assigned people to life boats
2. covered lifeboats
3. better survival suits broken out earlier
Do you think Lynne would mind answering any of the (55 or so) questions I sent you, or to relate what she thought happened, where she has a different belief than you about all of this? I would be interested in what she has to say.
I don't think she really wants to talk about it.
Thursday, December 06, 2007 5:22 PM
I found a fairly good account of things from a passenger on the National Geographic Endeavour, see link:
When I asked you today you said that your cabin had a sealed glass port hole and that a steel cover could be manually opened but that you were having trouble latching it properly. How far above the water line was the bottom of the port hole? And that you know of did all of the other 3rd floor cabins (on the starboard side) have one or more similar port holes? Could you please tell me more details about it, the problems you were having with it and what the crew did about this? Did you hear of anyone else having problems with the covers? In your estimation do you think the glass could have been broken by ice hitting it?
PS. I will be very interesting in looking at all of the pictures you took, especially of the insides of the ship.
Saturday, December 08, 2007 7:16 PM
Dear Dennis,
The porthole was approximately two feet above the water line. When it was open (between Ushuais and Stanly in the Falklands) looking out would often look like looking into a front loading washing machine. All the cabins on both the third deck and the second deck had port holes. All were covered after we left Stanly. The porthole was covered with a round steel plate. The plate was secured by three steel dogs. Each dog was an i-bolt with a three inch long "nut" going over the threaded portion. The bottom dog stuck, so it could not be moved up to secure the window. The two other dogs did secure the window. Previously they had tried to fix it. They had sprayed WD40 in the i part of the i-bolt to loosen it. It didn't work. The result was there was a half inch opening between the porthole and the cover at the bottom which of course tapered closer the further up the window you went. They tried once to fix it, and never got back to it again. When I left the cabin, the porthole was intact. That is, no water was coming in it and I didn't see any broken glass. It is possible later that it could have been broken, but still it wouldn't have let in a tremendous amount of water. No one ever discussed portholes so I don't know if anyone had a problem. When we got on and off the boat we could see the portholes and all looked covered.
In subsequent face-to-face discussions Pete noted the following:
The ship had bow thrusters.
The muster station had windows so they could look outside to see what was going on. Some time after assembling at the muster station Pete noticed that a large iceberg (which came up to about the height of the outside railing) was very near to the starboard side of the ship, but he doesn't remember feeling any impact with it.
The Captain stated at one point that they had succeeded in tearing away the wall where the leak had occurred and were attempting to plug it.
GAP sent Pete a check for almost all of what he paid for the full trip.
Pete has a number of pictures that he took of the inside of the ship including the engine room and his cabin.
D. Barkley
/ / /
Dennis Notes
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
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Florence, Kentucky |
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Attending a game at Champion Window Field, it is hard not to notice that something is amiss. A brand new park in a big suburban area that is easily accessible from the highway should have no problems drawing in the fans. But that has not been the case thus far in Florence. At least part of this can be attributed to the first owner of the Freedom who screwed over many of the contractors that were working on the ballpark. With a new owner in place now, it may just take some time before people get over the bitter taste left by the first owner. The ballpark itself is similar to other Frontier League parks in Gateway and River City. It is located right next to I-70 and is surrounded by a large parking lot (parking is free). As with many new parks, fans enter on the concourse which overlooks the field. The concourse is very spacious and runs from foul line to foul line (no wraparound concourse here). The seating is comprised of all fold down chairs that are some of the oddest colors you'll see - yellow, red, green, and blue. Apparently these seats may be replaced with one solid color at some point. Berm seating is also available down each line. Because of the large foul territory, seats are not that close to the action. Also, sightlines are obstructed by a net that runs the full length of the dugout on each side. I'm not sure why teams find this necessary as there are almost no foul balls hit directly over the dugouts. Concessions are average at best. There is a grill in right field that offers brats and burgers, but there are no regional items to speak of. A small gift store is located behind home plate, but was surprisingly sparse. The atmosphere is pretty typical of a minor league park - lots of music (but no sound effects) and a few between inning games (dizzy, sumo, mattress race, etc.) There is also the obligatory play area for kids in the left field corner. My biggest complaint (which probably wouldn't bother most fans) was the complete lack of effort in obtaining the roster for the opposing team. The insert in the scorecard had exactly 5 players listed - how hard is it to go online and print out a roster ? Other than a couple minor complaints, I found Champion Window Field to be a serviceable park that fits in well with the other Frontier League parks. Hopefully the people of Florence will get over their resentment and help the Freedom thrive. |
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If you are looking to score a DROID and a DROID Eris for you and your loved one, you now have until Christmas Eve to make this oh-so-important holiday purchase. Starting today and extended until December 24th, Verizon Wireless is offering the DROID Eris as part of its popular Buy One, Get One Free promotion. Just like last time, if you buy a DROID or a DROID Eris, you are eligible to receive a DROID Eris for free. As always, a new two year customer agreement for each handset required. Or, you could always enter our DROID giveaway. One free DROID is better than a DROID and an Eris for $199, no?
Thanks to all our connects who hit us up.


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(CNN) -- San Francisco, California, Mayor Gavin Newsom vetoed Friday the city's ban on most McDonald's Happy Meals with toys.
In making the veto, the mayor released a new report on how a public-private partnership is combating childhood obesity and how San Francisco's more than 55,000 public school students are now eating fresher and healthier foods.
"Parents, not politicians, should decide what their children eat, especially when it comes to spending their own money," said Newsom. "Despite its good intentions, I cannot support this unwise and unprecedented governmental intrusion into parental responsibilities and private choices."
Under a partnership with the private sector, the local government has been remedying the root causes of obesity, Newsom said.
Since the city launched its "Shape Up San Francisco" program in 2006, the city has received state funds to expand physical exercise for schoolchildren, put gardens in schools, delineate safe school routes to walk and bike to school, and educate kids about making healthy choices, Newsom said.
His spokesman added the mayor is looking for the Board of Supervisors not to override his veto, even though eight of its 11 members had voted for the ban.
"He hopes some members will reconsider should it be put up for an override," said spokesman Tony Winnicker. "One of the eight is not entirely comfortable with it and some of them are getting heat as this thing is being mocked around the world."
The mayor, he said, is "doing what he thinks is the right thing."
Supervisor Eric Mar, who sponsored the legislation, predicted an override.
"I am surprised that Mayor Newsom plans to veto the Healthy Meal Legislation, given his consistent support of healthy eating and active living through his sponsorship of programs like Shape Up San Francisco, Sunday Streets, and Soda Free Summers," Mar said before the veto.
He said he applauds the mayor's work to combat childhood obesity "through increasing access to healthy food and promoting physical activity. However, as a city, we need to do more."
"The dollars spent by the fast-food industry far outnumber any resources that we as a city could spend on outreach and education. Southeast San Francisco is a food desert, where fast-food restaurants are abundant and fresh produce is
scarce. No amount of physical activity can undo the harms of unhealthy eating," Mar said.
"From the Institutes of Medicine to the World Health Organization, we know that reducing the consumption of junk food by kids could spare the health of millions and save billions of dollars to our overstrapped public health system. That's why pediatricians, educators, parents, community health advocates, and thousands of individuals lined up to support this ordinance," he added.
The Board of Supervisors approved the ban on Tuesday. The ordinance requires McDonald's Happy Meals and other fast-food servings that come with toys to meet new nutritional standards.
Newsom, elected last week to be the state's lieutenant governor, had indicated he would veto the proposal before leaving for his new job.
The bill, which San Francisco officials hope other cities will adopt in battling a child obesity epidemic, was a defeat for McDonald's, which led the fight against the measure.
"As previously stated, we are extremely disappointed with this decision. It's not what our customers want, nor is it something they asked for," said McDonald's spokeswoman Danya Proud after the board voted.
The proposal addresses how toys and other marketing freebies entice children to buy fast-food meals that are high in fat and calories, Mar said. He initiated the proposal because his fifth-grade daughter is in the 6-to-11 age group that has seen obesity rates quadruple over the past 30 years, the same time that the Happy Meal has been on the market.
"This is a simple and modest policy that holds fast-food accountable," he said.
Before Tuesday's vote, Mar cited a study released this week by Yale University's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, which examined 12 popular restaurant chains and found only 12 out of more than 3,000 kids' meal combinations met the nutritional guidelines for preschool-age children.
The study said that the fast-food industry spent $4.2 billion on advertising in 2009, that 40 percent of preschool-age children ask to go to McDonald's on a weekly basis, and that 15 percent ask on a daily basis. Also, 84 percent of parents say they've taken their children to eat fast food at least once in the past week.
Under the law, McDonald's and other restaurants would have until December 2011 to improve their meals' nutrition by adding fruits and vegetables -- if the chains want to keep offering toys, including those promoting the latest films.
The food and beverages would have to contain fewer than 600 calories, and less than 35 percent of the total calories would be allowed to come from fat. The meal would have to contain half a cup of fruit and three-fourths a cup of vegetables, and offer less than 640 milligrams of sodium and less than 0.5 milligrams of trans fat. Breakfast would have the option of offering half cups of fruit or vegetables.
City officials said they expect a legal challenge from McDonald's, which declined to comment on possible legal action.


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Odds & Ends: Mindhunter, Starring Jonathan Groff, Is (Probably) Over & More
Here's a quick roundup of stories you might have missed recently.
No Plan Set for Mindhunter Season Three
Looks like Two-time Tony nominee Jonathan Groff is hanging up his badge. The Broadway star headlined the first two seasons of Mindhunter as special agent Holden Ford. The psychological thriller series, based on John Douglas and Mark Olshaker's 1996 nonfiction book Mind Hunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit, is indefinitely on pause. "When I got done [with season two], I was pretty exhausted, and I said, 'I don't know if I have it in me right now to break season three," executive producer and director David Fincher said in a recent interview. Netflix has not confirmed the show is done forever, however. "Maybe in five years," a spokeperson cracked. You never know.
Edith O'Hara Dies at 103
Edith O'Hara has died at the age of 103, according to The New York Times. Born on February 15, 1917 in Idaho, O'Hara arrived in New York City later in her life, taking with her a show called Touch, which she had developed in Warren, Pennsylvania at a small theater company she founded. An off-off-Broadway stalwart, she founded the 13th Street Repertory Company in Greenwich Village in 1972. ennessee Williams, Bette Midler, Chazz Palminteri, Barry Manilow and more have appeared at the venue, which became the longtime home to Israel Horovitz's play Line; it opened there in 1974 and is the longest show to run in off-off-Broadway history. O'Hara is survived by her daughters Jill and Jenny, her son Jack, three grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Watch the Action-Packed Featurette for His Dark Materials
Season two of HBO's His Dark Materials is slated to drop on HBO on November 16. The series stars stage alums Lin-Manuel Miranda, James McAvoy and Ruth Wilson and is adapted from Philip Pullman's award-winning fantasy trilogy of the same name. Get a taste of the show's second season below!
It's Official! The Sanderson Sisters Will Fly Again in Film Sequel
Hocus Pocus fans have been wondering about the 1993 film's sequel, especially as Halloween approaches. As previously reported, Tony winner Bette Midler has made it clear she would be on board to appear in Disney+'s sequel of the film, exclaiming, "I can't wait to fly!" Now, she has officially confirmed she will reunite with Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy for Hocus Pocus 2, which will be directed by Hairspray's Adam Shankman. Judging by their recent Sanderson sister reunion, we're confident this film will be bewitching!
Train with Tony Winner Betty Buckley
Want to train with a Broadway legend? Tony winner Betty Buckley is offering an online song/monologue master class that anyone can take from anywhere in the world—yes, you can learn from theater royalty in sweatpants. Buckley teaches two different classes: one for alumni and one for new students. Head here to get all the info on class scheduling and prices.


text: The Doors Walkthrough: ------------ Room 0 (J) ---------- -Click the dresser to walk forward -Open the bottom drawer (click a handle) -Get F Card -Turn left and click the left section of the radiator -Pick up the first piece of cube from the pipe -Turn left and face the painting -Click around the mid-right section of the floor where you'll see a small white paper -When the camera zooms to the floor get the first piece of the letter -Turn to the right and enter the door with the (t) Room 1 (t) ---------- -Click Jacket -Click sleeve until pocket is shown -Get the second piece of the letter from the pocket -Click the radiator -Get a pice of the cube from the bottom left section of the radiator -Turn to the right and click the fireplace -Click the bottom left section of the fireplace where you'll see the next piece of cube -Turn right and click the phone -Pick up the other cube piece sitting next to the phone (you should now have a box) -Turn right (angled view of couch) and click the 3rd cushion from the left and pick up e card -Turn right to face the jacket and radiator again -Drag the cube into the box holder next to the door -Click the door to enter Room 2 Room 2 (S) ---------- -Click the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet and get the medical profile -Click under the desk and get the 3rd piece of letter -Turn to the right and click the 3rd shelf from the bottom (the files on the left) -Click the Book to get the J card -Turn to the right and set the clock hand to 6:00 (The time on the medical sheet) -Click the lower section of the clock that opened and get another box -Turn to the right and click the lamp -Get the O card from under the lamp -Place the new box into the holder and enter Room 3 Room 3 (F) ---------- -The room is upside down so theres not much to do yet -Turn in either direction twice and pick up the picture from the floor (or ceiling) -Click the door next to it to go back to Room O Room O (J) ---------- -Turn to the left and click the painting -Click the person in the painting to reveal and codebox -Enter the code 72273 and get the next box (if u look at the poloriod u found before it says "s-c-a-p-e". 72273 is what you would dial on a touch tone phone to enter "scape") -Turn to the left and enter the door with the F on it to go back to room 3 Room 3 (F) ---------- -The room is now back to normal -Click underneath the dresser and place the new box in its holder (the door is now open but don't leave yet.) -Turn to the right and click the nightstand and get the 4th piece of letter -Click the bed then click the left side of the pillow and pick up the t card -Turn around and click dresser. This will bring you to room 4 Room 4 (e) ---------- -Click the second shelf from the bottom on the right and get the S card -Turn twice to the left and click the open closet door on the right to close it -Click the second shelf from the bottom and pick of the open box (looks like a cross) -Now click the cross and drag the cards into each spot in this order: 0 - J (blue) 1 - t (green) 2 - S (orange) 3 - F (red) 4 - e (purple) 5 - O (grey) The cross should look like this: ..J.. t.S.F ..e.. ..O.. -The box will close and form a new box for you to put into the next hold to access room 5 Room 5 (O) ---------- -Click the stairs -Click the top of the stairs -Click the door -Click the note on the door -Click the last piece of the letter in your inventory to put it together and read it -When you are done reading, click the letter and enjoy the ending Explanation of the cards: ------------------------- The order of the cards matches up with the order of the symbols on the doors you went through. Here's the sequence for the cards in the open box: -------------------------------------------------- 0 - blue (foyer) 1 - green (living room) 2 - orange (office) 3 - red (bedroom) 4 - purple (kitchen) 5 - the unknown door


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Explore Ford-style chord voicings and turnarounds.
Chops: Beginner
Theory: Intermediate
Lesson Overview:
• Explore the nuances of Robben Ford's style.
• Create rootless voicings inspired by T-Bone Walker and Freddie King.
• Combine blues and pentatonic scales over standard turnarounds.
Click here to download a printable PDF and mp3s of this lesson's notation.
Robben Ford is one of the most sophisticated blues guitarists around—we briefly touched on his style in the first part of this lesson. In this installment, I'm going to focus on his use of jazz-inspired chord voicings and take a look at how he handles a few turnarounds.
We are going to take a step pass the triad-based approach we covered in the last lesson by looking at the voicings Ford borrows from jazz pianists. He likes to keep the notes from moving too far when shifting from chord to chord, only changing notes when it's absolutely necessary. This is a very musical way of approaching harmony.
In Fig. 1, we can see how Ford would play over a funky blues in the key of D with some added tensions. We begin with the basic target tones (3 and 7) of each chord and then add a note on top. In blues music, we almost always focus on dominant chords. The 3 and b7 of a dominant chord create an interval called a tritone, which is the quintessential sound of the blues.
We start with a D7#9 chord as the I chord. The lower two notes form our tritone, and then we add an F (or E#) on the 2nd string for the #9. Now the trick here is to understand that the tritone is this little sonic nugget that moves around in a very subtle way. For the IV chord, G13, we simply move the entire shape down one fret. How easy is that? Now, instead of a #9 on top we have a natural 13.
While we are on the topic of rootless chords, let's take a look at a simple blues in A in Fig. 2. In this example, we are playing an A9 chord with the 3 (C#) in the bass. Many players such as T-Bone Walker and Freddie King used this type of voicing in order to make the chords move smoothly from one change to another. Again, we cut out the root, but over the IV chord (D9) we add it back in and keep the E on the 2nd string as a common tone. Keeping this E common through all three voicings gives the chords a connectedness that is pleasing to the listener.
We stay on the inner four strings, but move up a bit for Fig. 3. Here, we will use a new dominant 13 voicing with the b7 (G) in the bass and the root (A) in the highest voice on the 2nd string. The IV chord shape is the same voicing we used on our A9 chord in Fig. 2. In measure nine, we use one of Robben's favorite voicings for a dominant 11 chord. Many chords can be analyzed in different ways and this is no exception. Even though you don't have the 3 in the chord, another name for this chord could be either E9sus or D/E if you like to think in slash chords. These dominant 11 chords are a little spacey for most blues players, but not Ford—he uses them quite a bit.
Turnarounds are a key part of any blues guitarist's style and Ford keeps things somewhat simple in Fig. 4. It isn't as fancy or complex as his diminished licks, but it does the job. We start on the V chord (A7) in the key of D with a triplet-based arpeggio that leads smoothly into the IV chord, or G7. I played this at a slow tempo but to really get the effect that attracted me to this one in the first place, I suggest you work it up to as fast a tempo as you can manage while keeping a good feel and solid time.
Fig. 5 sticks with the simple approach as well. We are still in the same key and we are starting on the V chord. The phrase starts off in the fifth position by playing notes straight out of the A7 arpeggio with an added C natural used as a passing tone. Make sure to milk the bend in the second measure as much as possible before hitting the D at the 15th fret. We then move to the D minor pentatonic (D–F–G–A–C) before resolving to the root at the 12th fret.
It's been a lot of fun dissecting the playing of one of my favorite blues players. I hope you've enjoyed my example of what sticks out to me about Robben Ford's playing, and I also hope you'll be able to add these concepts to your trick bag and bring 'em to the next jam.
Dennis McCumber has been a guitar instructor and performer for more than 20 years. He holds a Bachelor's degree in music education from The College of Saint Rose. Dennis performs regularly in the New York City area with various rock, blues, and funk bands, and occasionally as a classical soloist. In addition to performing, Dennis has been a middle school music teacher in the Bronx for the past 12 years. While teaching in the Bronx, he was given a guitar lab by VH1 Save the Music and a keyboard lab from the radio station Hot97 Hip Hop Symphony. Dennis has been an instructor at the National Guitar Workshop since 1996, where he teaches Blues, Funk, and Rock. Find out more at dennismccumber.com.


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As children grow into adolescence, their bodies require more nutrients to grow healthy and strong. But as many parents know, for those teens with busy school schedules, sports practices and jobs, managing a healthy, well-balanced meal plan isn't always at the top of their priority list. In many cases, a teen's most important meals are eaten in the car or on the bus as they shuffle from one activity to the next.
Parents can play a very important role in influencing their teen to stay active while maintaining a healthy diet. These tips can help:
- Encourage your teen to not skip meals, especially breakfast. A well-balanced breakfast is essential to keeping your son or daughter nourished throughout the day.
- Educate your teen about healthy snack choices. Stock your refrigerator and cabinets with healthy foods and snacks, such as nuts, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat milk and lean meats and poultry. Avoid buying sodas and other sugary drinks and foods that are low in nutritional value.
- Involve your teen in the selection and preparation of foods to teach them to make healthy choices.
- Teach your teen how to make healthy selections when eating out at restaurants.
How many servings per day your teenager requires will depend on how many calories his or her body needs. This is based on age, sex, size and activity level. You can discuss your teen's nutritional habits and recommended daily intake with your teen's pediatrician.
Although balancing school, sports and social activities may present challenges to eating healthy, it is possible to guide your teen on a path of nutritional food choices. Educate them now and promote healthy eating at home to help your teen develop a good understanding of proper nutrition into adulthood. The whole family can benefit from improved eating habits starting at home.


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I order everything from Northern Brewer and in my experience they have always suggested secondary fermentation, except for a hefeweizen that I have ready to drink.
I assumed this was because hefeweizens were supposed to be cloudy and secondary fermentation tends to reduce cloudiness.
Naturally my bottles have a much larger layer of yeast in them then I have seen from my other beers.
I just poured two bottles into two glasses. The first bottle I poured every last drop. The second bottle I poured until I noticed the yeast about to flow out.
Which is the proper way to pour a hefeweizen?


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According to a growing number of reports, thousands of children are simply disappearing from the UK Care System (the equivalent of the "Foster Care" system in the U.S.) every year, and what is said to be happening to them is too awful to contemplate.
On May 7, 2018, an article published in The Independent, titled Hundreds more children 'farmed out' to care homes miles from where they live despite pledge to cut number, reported that the number of children in the UK who were being sent to residential homes hundreds of miles away from where they live had risen by 64 percent.
The Independent reported that, last year alone, over 9,000 of the children who had been sent away to these homes had gone missing. She stated that:
There has also been a surge in the number of sent-away children going missing from their care homes, with the number of incidents more than doubling – from 4,380 in 2015 to 9,190 in 2017.
What is even more worrying is the fact that, according to their report, Labour M.P. Ann Coffey has stated that she will be arguing in a parliamentary debate that:
…vulnerable children who are sent far away from where they grew up are more likely to be targeted by pedophiles and drugs gangs.
According to The Independent, Coffey had stated that:
The government promised to curb the growing practice of farming out children to homes that are sometimes 100 miles from where they live.
Shockingly, the rise has not stopped at all, but has got worse. Despite the pledge, record numbers of children are being sent away to places where they are more vulnerable to exploitation.
Coffey, who is the chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Runaway and Missing Children and Adults, stated that:
These children are running away at a faster rate and are being targeted and preyed upon by pedophiles and criminals who know they are vulnerable.
The farming out of children to areas where they have no friends or family circles or local social workers has created a perfect storm where it is increasingly difficult to protect children.
If she is correct, and there is no one to protect these children, what exactly is happening to them?
Maggie Tuttle Believes She Knows the Answer
Maggie Tuttle, children's campaigner and founder of the action group, Children Screaming to be Heard, has been concerned about the thousands of children who have gone missing from the UK Care System for many years.
In an interview, she told Health Impact News that she has evidence to prove that many of the children are being deliberately sent to residential homes hundreds of miles away, so that they lose contact with everyone that they know.
She told us that this makes the children vulnerable and therefore easier to be targeted for prostitution.
She told Health Impact News that to understand the true extent of what is happening, readers need to understand the history behind it. She stated that:
The lost children go back long before the work houses that were organised in 1576. Then in 1619, immigration of the poor kids started and again in 1834 the poor houses were organised. Then in 1929, these were shut down.
There were also the Duplessis orphans, which were healthy children, living in sanctuaries, who were hastily diagnosed as mentally incompetent, psychotic patients.
So the British children have always been slaves for untold years and of course untold thousands of kids sold off to Australia, Canada and many other countries, after World War II as can be read in this link, tens of thousands of more stolen children sent abroad.
The earliest recorded British child migrants left Britain for Virginia in 1618, but most of them were sent in the late 19th and the 20th centuries.
Exact figures are hard to come by, but it seems that between 130,000 and 150,000 children – usually orphaned, abandoned, illegitimate, or just poor – were sent to live in foster homes and institutions in the colonies: mostly Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).
In the last big post war wave, which ended in 1970, at least 3,000 children were sent to Australia.
For a range of reasons, British officials wanted to reduce the costs to the state of looking after destitute children. There were also labor shortages in the colonies, and the imperial authorities were keen to populate them with "good white stock."
"If we do not supply from our own stock, we are leaving ourselves all the more exposed to the menace of the teeming millions of our neighboring Asiatic races," said the Archbishop of Perth, welcoming child migrants to Australia in 1938.
Many of the organisations that ran child migration, however, did so for benevolent purposes; to provide children with a better life in the colonies. In 1870, Dr Thomas Barnardo spoke of rescuing children from "abominable filth" and "atmospheric impurity."
When we asked her how the children were being removed from their families, she stated:
Boys and girls, mostly between the ages of seven and ten, but some as young as two, were shipped overseas by charitable and religious organisations including the Fairbridge Society, Barnardo's, the Church of England and various Catholic groups.
The consent of a parent or guardian was sought in some, but by no means all, cases.
Many children were removed without their parents' knowledge, and told they were going to a "land of milk and honey," to enable them to make a new start, it was seen as being advantageous to cut family ties: some children, wrongly told they were orphans, were separated from siblings and deprived of basic details about their identities.
Birth certificates were often shortened to omit details of parents. As a result, many migrants regard themselves as having been "stolen."
We asked her if this practice is still happening today. She replied that, to her knowledge:
The so called 10,000 kids, in 2018, that have gone missing are now being trafficked from care by Government bodies and their self-made army known as the Social Services, who also control the nation and as we know thousands of kids are stolen from care for the pedophiles.
She continued:
Therefore, it is easy for Governments to say kids are running away from care…what rubbish…yes, some do run away, but I will say again, kids from care are being trafficked and used for the Pedophiles.
For details of Ms. Tuttle's tireless efforts to protect the thousands of children in government care, please read her website titled Children Screaming to be Heard, where you will find hundreds of documents to support her claims.
Retired CID Officer Bullied Out of His Job for Exposing the Truth
We continued our investigation by getting in touch with whistle-blower and retired Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officer, Jon Wedger, who has a background working in the vice squad and in child abuse cases, and who had recently stated to the Daily Star that:
I investigated a pimp known as Foxy, who sold a 14-year-old girl called, Zoe, for sex and got her hooked on crack cocaine.
We asked Wedger to describe some of his experiences and he told us that:
Whilst working on the child abuse team in the early 2000s, I was shocked to discover that no one took responsibility when a child went missing from the care system.
He stated that:
Although the child was reported as missing, when it came to accountability for the care of that child, everyone passed the buck. It always became someone else's responsibility to follow up [with] what had happened to that child.
He explained that while working in Haringey, one of the largest boroughs in London, he had asked his officer in charge, how many children's homes were in the borough.
At first, he appeared evasive, but eventually he was informed that there were 26 homes in total. Wedger asked him whether or not there was a problem with prostitution in any of the homes, and he was informed that no problems had been reported.
However, he soon discovered that this was far from the truth. He told Health Impact News:
I obtained a list of the homes and rang each and every one of them. I asked them whether or not they had any problems with prostitution. At first, I was given the names a few youngsters who were regularly going missing from the care homes and who were known to be involved in prostitution.
Wedger explained that, sadly, these names were only the tip of the iceberg, because, over the next three days, he was given the names of fifty youngsters who were known to be regularly involved in prostitution.
He told Health Impact News that:
Not only was I given the names and details of the fifty children who were regularly going missing, I was provided with the registration numbers of the cars that were picking them up, which I later discovered were attached to several local brothels.
We asked him whether or not these children were being paid for their services and he told us:
Yes, they are being paid. Most of them are becoming addicted to cocaine and heroin whilst they are in care and are being paid to fund their habit.
He continued:
I was shocked to discover that when I reported my findings to my superiors, I was met with a wall of silence. No one was the slightest bit interested in the fact that children from the UK care system were regularly being used for prostitution!
Officer Threatened for Exposing Child Trafficking
Wedger told us that he had expected to be supported by his colleagues, and that he had expected them to be as outraged by the atrocities happening in the UK care system as he was. However, instead of the support that he had expected, he found himself bullied out of his job by his co-workers for exposing the cover up.
In April 2018, during the ITNJ Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Human Trafficking and Child Sex Abuseconference, Wedger explained that when he exposed the truth to his superior, he was told that the inquiry had been shut down because they no longer had funding.
He stated that he was later told by a Scotland Yard detective that:
When you investigate any crime, and you do well in it, you get praised, but when you look into child abuse cases, the opposite happens. You have to be very careful.
Wedger said that he had expected to be praised for what he had found out, and each day a new child would be found and the situation was just spiraling. He stated that he brought the matter before a very high ranking officer who told him:
If you ever expose what you have found out, you will lose your home, your children and your job…you must shut the f' up. You will be thrown to the wolves; you have no idea who and what you are dealing with. I am warning you now, you must back away.
To listen to his talk, please click on the video below:
Children Have Disappeared Out of the Care System and Nothing is Being Done
Another angry campaigner, who wanted to remain anonymous to protect her family, told Health Impact News that:
There seems to be an agenda in the UK government, running with every party that takes power, to compromise children. This has been going on for decades, and whenever people speak out about it, they are shut down whatever way the puppet string pullers see fit.
Over 160 MPs demanded that child abuse was looked into, an enquiry began initially with Dame Butler Sloss, followed by Fiona Wolf, both not trusted by the public they had to step down.
Next was NZ Judge Dame Lowell Goddard, she stepped down under mysterious circumstances, defamed by the press, the public has not had a good reason for her leaving even until this day.
In conclusion, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse appears to be yet another failed attempt at exposing the level of this massive problem in the UK.
More children being taken into care, more children disappearing in the care system and nothing really constructive being done about it.
We will look back in these times as heinously shameful with the betrayal of our young still happening and so many authoritative bodies complicit.
She also told us that:
Sex rings are popular in all governments, but pedophilia is primarily in British parliament & Saudi Arabia, and that's why HRC and BC love foreign donors so much. They get paid in children as well as money. Dig deep and you can find it. It will sicken you.
One of the cases that she gave us, to highlight how children are being snatched from loving parents needlessly and put into care, is the case of a pregnant woman who was sedated and had her baby forcibly removed by caesarean section prior to the child being taken into care.
The Telegraph, who wrote about the story, stated that:
Mid-Essex NHS Trust obtained a Court of Protection order against the woman that allowed her to be forcibly sedated and her child to be taken from her womb. Essex social services obtained an interim care order as soon as the baby was born.
According to the report, the reason that was given for taking this child into care, was the fact that prior to the baby being born, the woman had had a mental breakdown. They stated that:
The baby girl, now 15-months-old, is still in the care of social services, who are refusing to give her back to the mother, even though she claims to have made a full recovery.
Our informant explained to us that the buying and selling of children in the UK is a lucrative business and social services will do anything to take children into care.
From our research, this certainly appears to be true.
Conclusion: Children in Government Care Need to be Protected from Sex Trafficking
It is clear that something needs to be done to protect these children. The UK care system was designed to protect vulnerable children, and yet, instead of the love and protection that these children so desperately need, they are becoming addicted to drugs and are being sexually abused.
From our interviews, it is clear that those professionals who have tried to expose the truth have not only been bullied, but they have had their careers destroyed because of their actions. Why is the UK government failing in their duty to protect these children and allowing this atrocity to continue?
We would like to thank Jon Wedger, Maggie Tuttle and everyone who was willing to speak to Health Impact News about what is happening to the UK's most vulnerable children.
Disclaimer: We at Prepare for Change (PFC) bring you information that is not offered by the mainstream news, and therefore may seem controversial. The opinions, views, statements, and/or information we present are not necessarily promoted, endorsed, espoused, or agreed to by Prepare for Change, its leadership Council, members, those who work with PFC, or those who read its content. However, they are hopefully provocative. Please use discernment! Use logical thinking, your own intuition and your own connection with Source, Spirit and Natural Laws to help you determine what is true and what is not. By sharing information and seeding dialogue, it is our goal to raise consciousness and awareness of higher truths to free us from enslavement of the matrix in this material realm.


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Hello hello all, I'm still in in "Hotlanta" today, but enjoying the faces and people I've met here at the Haven Conference, we're all so happy it's been a great success so far, and the Haven team really appreciates all the support from our amazing sponsor brands!
My final visitor in this "Summer Is" series is my good friend Melissa from The Inspired Room. She's a fellow west coast gal who I've traveled with to several events, and we've become good friends over the years. She writes all about home decorating and design and loves the topic as much as I do, please welcome Melissa!
Hello! My name is Melissa and I'm from The Inspired Room. I'm so honored today that my lovely friend Kate invited me here to share what summer is to me! I do love summer! While Fall has always been considered my most favorite season (I'm a sit-by-a-cozy-fire-kind-of-girl, what can I say?) there is so much to enjoy about summer! While it is hard to narrow down all of my summer favorites, I'm happy to share a few with you today.
When I think of summer, I dream of relaxing on cool evenings in a lovely outdoor space, sipping cold drinks with friends in the warm summer sun, wonderful family vacations at our beach front home and lightening up the decor inside and out with fun summer accessories and vibrant color. I love to indulge all my senses in every season, so as soon as summer arrives I always fill my home with the most refreshing summer scents! I'm currently loving the tropical fruit candle called Volcano from Anthropologie.
I'm so glad summer is finally here and I intend to enjoy every minute of it!
Sources: 1. Country Living 2. Martha Stewart 3. The Inspired Room 4. Dash & Albert 5. The Inspired Room 6. The Inspired Room
I want to thank Melissa and my three friends Myra, Chris, and Melissa for taking over the blog during these past two days and sharing their summer favorites. Don't forget to enter the 'Boost Your Roost' contest for a chance to win a $20,000 home renovation – it's easy to enter and it could be YOU!


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Writers from Shakespeare to contemporary stand up comics have recognized the humorous potential in marriage. A new Art House production about to open this week ventures into this well-trod territory, and brings its own unique twist.
"Commit," by ECJ Calvert, is a dark comedy derived from a larger collection of works, and explores three different marital situations brought to life by an ensemble of professional actors.
The play, which runs from May 29 through June 7, marks the first partnership between Art House Productions and Mana Contemporary, two of the leading arts organizations in Jersey City.
"We're incredibly excited that Mana Contemporary is sponsoring us," said Art House Productions Executive Director Christine Goodman. "They've done so much to bring top-caliber visual art, dance and more to Jersey City, and we're looking forward to bringing this dynamic show to their arts center."
"Commit" presents three stories of "loving estrangement and bloody romance." Rather than dealing with the bubbly happiness typical of romantic comedy, the play explores desperation and loneliness in marriage, coupled with murder and "the fine art of the martini."
"She was interested in linking three of these together for this play." – Christine Goodman
"This play is unique and exciting because it takes three very recognizable relationship dynamics, and throws in an absurdist element that turns everything on its head," said director Mason Beggs. "The situations are ridiculous, but the human relationship underneath is accessible."
Although the same actors play the main roles in each story, they are separate stories with different characters, exploring various aspects of the cracking façade of relationships.
Formed from a larger collections of stories
Calvert comes by way of the New School in Manhattan, and had written about 10 original pieces as part of a sequence.
"She was interested in linking three of these together for this play," Goodman said.
The play runs about an hour and has a total cast of five actors, including the male lead, Terrance MacSweeney, who played the lead in an Art House production last year.
"This is a professional cast," Goodman said.
MacSweeney, Eleanor Handley, and David Riley are members of Actors Equity, and the cast also includes Evie Freeman and Kit Vogelsang.
This marks Art House's first show at Mana's newly-opened theater space.
"We're very fortunate," Goodman said, noting that the collaboration came as a result of a number of conversations over a period of time in which both groups explored the idea of working together.
"We are part of the Jersey City arts community," Goodman said. "The theater is very new and we're very lucky to have an opportunity to bring the show to Mana."
"Commit," written by Calvert and directed by Beggs, features a music and audio design by Michael Flinck. Lighting design is done by Lance A. Michel, set and prop design by Gail-Marie Boykewich, and costume design by Pat Christodulidis.
The play is Art House's professional main stage production for the year and will be held at Mana Contemporary, 888 Newark Ave., Jersey City. Performance dates are May 29 through 31 at 8 p.m. and June 5 to 7 at 8 p.m.
Tickets are $20, $15 in advance, and can be purchased online at http://commit.brownpapertickets.com. The theater is wheelchair accessible. Parking is available in the Mana Contemporary lot.
This performance is not suitable for children. Using the film scale, the rating would be PG-13.
Al Sullivan may be reached at email@example.com.


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(excl. UT, AZ, CA)
Product Summary:
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If your state is not listed above, this product meets GPM (Gallons Per Minute) or GPF (Gallons Per Flush) standards and will ship to your state.
- Quick Ship: Yes


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MADRID — Spain's bitter financial crisis is eating away at the country's high-end restaurant scene, with the owners of another top establishment saying it will have to close at the end of August.
A statement published on the website of the famed eatery outside Barcelona is blunt: "Can Fabes says goodbye."
Can Fabes' closure is the latest in a small but growing list that has seen the disappearance of celebrated eateries such as El Bulli, which was rated the world's best restaurant five times by the magazine The Restaurant until it served its last supper in July 2011 amid reports that it was too costly to run.
Spaniards take great pride in their cuisine — the careful preparation of food is almost a national obsession — and top chefs are celebrities among all classes. But Spain's economy has been in dire straits since the construction industry collapsed in 2008. Unemployment is at 27. 2 percent and people are increasingly unwilling to spend hard-earned cash on luxuries such as fine dining.
High-end restaurants are expensive to eat at, but they are also expensive to run, often with staff numbers equal to customers sitting at tables.
Since 2011, at least six famed Spanish restaurants have shocked the public by either closing or announcing they were on the verge of doing so. That includes three establishments among the roughly two dozen in Spain that have obtained the highly coveted two or three-star status from the renowned Michelin restaurant guide.
To Alberto Luchini, who edits one of Spain's best-known restaurant guides, that's an "ultrasonic speed" of loss for the country's high-end restaurants, and he expects the financial crisis to consume even more in the coming months. "By the time this crisis ends, the top-end concept will have changed, too," he said.
Can Fabes was dealt a massive blow when its founder and renowned chef, Santi Santamaria, died of a heart attack in February 2011 while at the helm of the kitchen at a restaurant he had just opened in Singapore.
Santamaria's death and Spain's economic problems combined appear to have proved too large a hurdle to overcome for the business model so painstakingly devised by the chef and his wife and partner, Angels Serra.
Founded in 1981 as an informal bistro by the self-taught Santamaria in his family's ancestral village of Sant Celoni, 53 kilometers (33 miles) northeast of Barcelona, Can Fabes earned its first Michelin star seven years later.
The chef's uncompromising insistence on using only the highest quality ingredients and his deep respect for Catalan regional produce soon led to greater recognition which saw him earn and maintain an almost unattainable Michelin three-star status from 1994 to 2011, continuously.
Santamaria's death heralded the first problem, with the loss of one star. At that stage, his empire had burgeoned to include restaurants in Barcelona, Madrid and Toledo in Spain, as well as in Dubai and Singapore, apart from the original one.
The chef's family — his wife, son Pau and daughter Regina — tried to keep Santamaria's heritage alive, employing chef Xavier Pellicer and then Frenchman Jerome Bondaz. But one by one they lost restaurants, and on Aug. 31 the original bistro must close, they say.
"The crisis has affected us badly," Santamaria's daughter told The Associated Press on Saturday. "While we still retain a tiny hope that a financial backer will step forward to invest in this dream, we have to accept that cuisine at this level carries huge running costs."
Luchini, the Metropoli restaurant guide editor, said, "I'm sure El Bulli lost money, and most of Madrid's top-end restaurants are suffering badly and surviving only because they succeed in attracting around 90 percent foreign customers.
"I went to Santamaria's restaurant recently and just two tables were occupied."
Three-star restaurants make very little money on their own, said restaurant critic Victor de la Serna, who for decades has written under the pseudonym of Fernando Point. "They need secondary activities — cheaper branches, advertising contracts, catering, publishing — to make a profit," he said. "These are drastically cut during a steep recession, and there goes the famous restaurant."
De la Serna said it was "miraculous" that the list of top restaurants that had gone under after a six-year recession in Spain was so short, "for now."
Establishments that specialize in avant-garde cuisine are in particularly tricky positions. Spain's avant-garde revolution was epitomized by Ferran Adria's "molecular cooking" that included attention-grabbing foams, nitrogen-infused tidbits and deconstructed omelets.
"The avant-garde movement was driven by easy money due to cheap credit. Without it I doubt El Bulli or any of these top restaurants would have made it," said Gerry Dawes, a New York-based critic who publishes the website "An Insider's Guide to Spanish Food, Wine, Culture and Travel."
Dawes predicted that few top restaurants are likely to survive Spain's financial crisis. "People went there for the prestige of saying they'd been, as much as for the cuisine," he said.
Chef Sergi Arola illustrated how badly the recession has hit the luxury restaurant trade when he announced last month that his two-star Madrid restaurant, Gastro, would have to close because of a tax debt of 150,000 euros ($197,000). Other recent closures that have shocked Spain include highly-rated eateries such as Jockey, Balzac and Club 31.
Many of Spain's top chefs expressed dismay over the news of the latest epicurean casualty.
"Can Fabes made history in the world of gastronomy," said Joan Roca, chef of El Celler de Can Roca, the restaurant that Restaurant magazine now rates the world's best. "Its closure demonstrates just how unfair this crisis is."